A federal jury has convicted a girl and man of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit cash laundering referring to a scheme that fraudulently raised cash from buyers throughout the nation.
In keeping with courtroom paperwork and proof introduced at trial, Reva Joyce Stachniw, 70, of Galesburg, Illinois, and Ron Throgmartin, 58, of Buford, Georgia, ran a Ponzi scheme from late 2017 and persevering with via in or round early 2019 that raised roughly $650 million from victim-investors. Stachniw and Throgmartin fraudulently represented to victim-investors that their investments had been backed by short-term investments in cattle. Additionally they used false and fraudulent pretenses to solicit cash from victim-investors for the conspirators’ Colorado-based marijuana enterprise, Common Herbs LLC. Different victim-investors gave the conspirators cash primarily based on false guarantees that funding cash could be used for authentic enterprise actions associated to cattle or marijuana, with out having the funding cash linked to particular funding alternatives.
Stachniw and Throgmartin had been convicted on one depend of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, 5 counts of wire fraud, and one depend of conspiracy to commit cash laundering. The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 6, 2023, and face a most penalty of 20 years in jail on every of the wire fraud counts and the conspiracy to commit wire fraud depend, in addition to 10 years in jail on the conspiracy to commit cash laundering depend. A federal district courtroom choose will decide any sentence after contemplating the U.S. Sentencing Tips and different statutory components.
Assistant Lawyer Basic Kenneth Well mannered, Jr. of the Justice Division’s Felony Division made the announcement.
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